Winter Holiday

My sister and nephew are down for a visit--my spouse didn't have to teach yesterday, and my nephew had a half-day school holiday, so as we planned, it was a good week-end for a winter visit.   In the past, we've met on Presidents Day week-end, but this year, my school celebrated differently, and Presidents Day week-end also included Valentine's Day.  I took the day off, as did my sister.

At one point on Thursday evening, I worried that they wouldn't be able to make it down at all.  Their plane was delayed and delayed, and I worried that as it got later, the flight might be cancelled altogether.  Happily, it was not.

Yesterday, after the late night Thursday at the airport, we took it easy.  What a delight to take it easy.  Some highlights from the day:

--We sat in the sun and read.  We forgot to put sunscreen on, but because it was cloudy and because it's February, we didn't get too much of a sunburn.

--We made one trip outside of the house to get steaks.  And since we were at the grocery store, we picked up all sorts of other things too.

--My 9 year old nephew LOVES Shirley Temples.  I loved this drink too, when I was a kid.  While we were at the grocery store, we got supplies:  ginger ale, grenadine, and maraschino cherries.

--We ate our steak dinners outside at the picnic table.  It was delightful weather, although a bit breezy.

--We put on our wetsuits and went in the pool.

--We had happy hour on the front porch.  Because we had a late lunch, we had cheese and crackers, our happy hour food, for dinner--my favorite dinner.

--My spouse gave motorcycle rides around the neighborhood.  At first my nephew was a bit scared of the noise.  But by the end of the day, he asked for an extra ride.

--We ended the day with a fire in the fireplace.  We had just the right amount of wood left.

--We played SkipBo, which was fun at first, but we were tired by then and ready for bed.

Today is my sister's birthday.  We'll probably celebrate in much the same way.